[Wall Street Journal] Joshua Muravchik - Consider the pell-mell events of recent weeks. Iran's Revolutionary Guard is caught delivering weapons to the Taliban and explosives to Iraqi terrorists. At the same time, Fatah al-Islam, a shady group linked to Syria, launches an attack on the Lebanese army from within a Palestinian refugee area, beheading several soldiers. Tehran trumpets further progress on nuclear enrichment as President Ahmadinejad repeats his call for annihilating Israel, crowing that "the countdown to the destruction of this regime has begun." Hamas seizes control militarily in Gaza. The apparent meaning of all of this is that the axis of radicals - Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hizbullah - is feeling its oats. It believes that its side has defeated America in Iraq, and Israel in Gaza and Lebanon. Ahmadinejad recently claimed that the West has already begun to "surrender," and he gloated that "final victory...is near." It is this bravado that bodes war.
2007-06-27 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive